John Rambo on Rambo III
'This article is a detailed description of John Rambo's actions in Rambo III (1988). ' 'This article is Under Construction. ' The Stick Fight John Rambo is seen preparing for a stick fight at a Bangkok, Thailand warehouse for some extra money. He is seen wearing Co Bao's Buddha amulet and tying his signature sweatband around his head, as well as putting on some burlap sleeves. Unbeknowest to Rambo, at this time Colonel Sam Trautman, his only friend and mentor, arrives at the warehouse along with a one Robert Griggs, a field officer at the local U.S. Embassy. The two watch Rambo's violent stick fight which Rambo almost loses. Luckily, Rambo wins but is left with a deranged look of rage in his eyes, letting the audience know that he is well prepared to kill him. Rambo wants to stop violence by living a peaceful lifestyle, but even a peaceful stick fight can awaken the primal killing machine within him. Rambo is simply unable to forget how prone he is to violence. Rambo luckily comes to his senses when the man surrenders and he leaves with some monks on a boat, giving them his money. Trautman and Griggs are frustrated when they are unable to find him but luckily they are able to follow Rambo to the monastery he is living at. The Monastery Rambo goes back to the Buddhist Monastery where he lives and proceeds to do some construction work on a steeple. However, Griggs and Trautman arrive and attempt to persuade Rambo to help out with a shipment of FIM 92-A Stinger missiles to the Mujhaideen fighters in Afghanistan, to combat the brutal invading Russian armies. Griggs then shows Rambo graphic photos of the victims of the Soviets. Although Rambo is moved, he cannot bring himself to go back to a life of war and violence. He declines their offer and walks back away to be alone, regretting his decision, knowing that it upset his only friend. Griggs remarks that they have to walk all the way down the Monastery steps but Trautman knows that Rambo is miserable and decides to talk about it with him. Rambo responds to Trautman that he likes "belonging to something", but Trautman tells him that he doesn't really belong to the monastery, and proceeds to tell a story about a statue a talented carver made, which leads into why Trautman believes that Rambo is unhappy and frustrated with his life: he needs to come "full circle". This means that Rambo must accept that he is, by nature, a combat soldier. This doesn't mean that he has to kill to be happy, but it means that this is what Rambo does and who he is. And by trying to turn away from this, he is in doing so tearing away at himself and therefore causing his own unhappiness. Rambo responds that he isn't quite ready to come full circle quite yet and thanks Trautman, but apologizes because it "has to end for me sometime". Trautman understands and leaves. Rambo can later be seen gilding the steeples on the monastery roofs and sitting on a cot, reflecting about whether or not he has made the right decision. What About Me? Later in the film after Trautman is ambushed by the Soviets and captured, Griggs returns to the monastery to inform Rambo of the situation as he is repairing a wheel on a wagon. Rambo is angered that the embassy can't do anything to rescue Trautman so he asks Griggs to arrange a secret clandestine rescue mission and put him in touch with local guerilla fighters who know where he is being held. Griggs warns him that the government will deny any knowledge of the secret plan or even his existence if he is captured or killed. Rambo sardonically replies that he's "used to it", and Griggs tells Rambo that he will contact him and leaves. Rambo is left to continue fixing the wheel, anxious to rescue Trautman before it's too late. I'm no tourist Rambo immediately flies to Peshawar, Pakistan and has the local arms supplier, Mousa Ghanin to bring him to Khost, a town in southern Afghanistan close to the Soviet base where Trautman is jailed. Mousa sees Rambo and asks if he is a customer. Rambo replies no. Mousa then asks if he is a mercenary. Rambo again replies no. Mousa then asks if he is a tourist, since he isn't a customer or soldier. Rambo steps forward, looks into Mousa's eyes and asserts that he's no tourist. He then tells him that Robert Griggs called and said he had supplies for him. Mousa shows Rambo his supplies in the back store room of the shop: several C-4 explosives, detonators, and numerous glow sticks which he calls "blue light". Mousa is confused by this and asks him what blue light does. Rambo replies that they "turn blue", and Mousa, still confused, replies with "ah". The two set out for Afghanistan and cross the border on horses, navigating through mountainous terrain and caves. Mousa points to the mountains over the horizon and tells Rambo that they have reached Afghanistan. He then tells Rambo that enemies have long since been afraid of the bravery and courage of the Afghan people, and that many enemies have tried to invade but have failed. He then recites a simple saying that the enemies of Afghanistan used to say, and asks Rambo if he knows what it means. Rambo replies that "it means you guys don't take any shit". Mousa laughs and says that this is correct. Then I'll Die About four hours later, the two arrive in the camp in Khost, where Rambo is given a firsthand experience with the starving, injured rebels. Rambo gets to meet a fiesty young orphan named Hamid, who asks about where he's from. Rambo replies "Bowie, Arizona", and after Hamid asks how far of a walk it is, he replies "about three years". Hamid questions him as to where he got it and then takes it out of Rambo's sheath and plays with it, impressed with the design of the knife. He says the weapon is "very good" and asks Rambo if he can have it. Rambo declines and the boy then asks about Co Bao's Buddha amulet, and Rambo explains that it is for "luck". The boy, having no concept of luck, asks what it is and Rambo tries to explain, only for Mousa to do it in Afghan. Hamid then asks if he can have it, because he needs luck. Rambo replies that he does as well, but it is more likely that he can't let go of his past quite yet and is clinging onto his necklace as a memory of Co, although it only gives him more pain. The mujahideen rebels in the village, led by the chieftain Masoud, are already hesitant to help Rambo in the first place, but are definitely convinced not to help him when their village is attacked by Soviet helicopters after one of Mousa's shop assistants tips off the Soviets. Aided only by Mousa and Hamid, Rambo makes his way to the Soviet base and starts his plan to free Trautman. It is Now After a rousing game of "Sheep Ball", which, despite having never played before, Rambo almost wins, the Mujhaideen discover that two Soviet gunships are heading towards them. Many people, including women and children, are killed when the psychotic Colonel Zaysen fires his Hind's machine guns and launches missiles at them. Rambo gets onto a horse and runs away from the gunfire, narrowly avoiding being killed. Luckily, Rambo discovers an unmanned DShK anti-aircraft heavy machine gun and cocks it, aiming it at a nearby Aeropostale Gazelle gunship. He commandeers the Mujhaideen DShK and fires it at the helicopter and it instantly explodes, rather than spinning out of control and crashing. After the battle, few people are left alive, and Rambo is left with intense guilt at not having done more to save people. Masoud arrives and tells Rambo that he should go while he can, because this "isn't your war". Angry at Zaysen for killing innocent people, Rambo replies that "it is now" and leaves somberly. Through the Mine Field Rambo navigates through the mine field so the Soviets don't expect their entrance. Rambo uses his large Bowie knife to check for land mines in the sand and later uses the serrated teeth on the top edge to cut through some barbed wire on a fence to gain entry to the prison camp Trautman is being held at. Although Rambo uses the C-4 detonators to destroy the camp as a diversion and use AK-47s, grenades and an RPG-7 to mulch many of Zaysen's men, killing dozens, the first attempt is unsuccessful and Hamid and Rambo are wounded in the process while fighting a number of Russian troops, having been shot in the leg and wounded with shrapnel, respectively. After escaping from the base, Rambo tends to Hamid's wounds and sends him and Mousa away to safety, as he can handle it himself at this point. Rambo retrieved his stilleto while he pulled some shrapnel from his torso. Rambo later grabbed a 7.62x39mm rifle round from the magazine of an AKMS and used the boot knife to cut off the bullet before carefully dumping the gunpowder from the cartridge's shell into the wound before taking the knife and burying it into some flaming grass, using the knife to pick up the burning material like a torch. Rambo winced as he prepared to lower the flame to the gunpowder, which burned up the powder and instantly cauterized the wound painfully. Rambo would bear this scar for the remainder of the film, which Kourov would later bury his finger into, putting Rambo into immense pain. The knife was not seen again after the scene where he nursed his wound, although it can be assumed that Rambo kept the knife. This scene pays homage to the scene in First Blood where Rambo sews up a deep gash in his shoulder. Breaking Out Trautman Rambo recovers and infiltrates the base again the following day, just in time to rescue Trautman from being tortured with a flamethrower. One notable instance features Rambo discovering a Soviet guard that is sitting several feet away from the machine gun he is supposed to be manning.The guard hears Rambo coming and runs to the DShK. Instead of grabbing the nearby AKMS, he instead attempts to rotate the gigantic, seventy-five pound machine gun to kill Rambo, which leads to his demise. He and Trautman rescue several other prisoners and hijacks a Hind helicopter to escape the base. However, the helicopter is damaged as it departs, one prisoner is been killed and soon crashes, forcing Rambo and Trautman to continue on foot while the other prisoners run off to safety after wishing Rambo and Trautman good luck. The Climb Rambo winds up having to climb up the side of a mountain. Your Worst Nightmare Inside the cave he and Trautman are hiding in, Rambo crouches in the shadows while eleven Spetsnaz commandos including Kourov search for him. Rambo kills the first one silently with a compound bow presumably because he is equipped with nightvision goggles, which makes him the biggest threat to revealing his location. Rambo then maneuvers about in the shadows and kills one by slashing him in the throat with his large Bowie knife. Next, Rambo cracks a blue glowstick and sets it on the ground. A confused Russian walks over and picks it up, only to realize all too late that it was actually a trap set by Rambo, who wound a wire around the glowstick, fastening it to the pin on an F1 grenade, killing the soldier. Hearing enemy fire, the soldiers are confused. One calls Colonel Zaysen on his radio but Rambo sneaks up behind him and breaks his neck, killing him instantly. A confused Zaysen asks for the soldier to respond but Rambo picks up the walkie talkie instead. Zaysen asks who this is and Rambo responds: "Your worst nightmare!", dropping the radio on the ground and walking away. Another commando is shot in the chest with an arrow with a glowstick attached to it, which illuminates Kourov behind him. Kourov uses his partner as a human shield from an exploding arrow which is launched his way and explodes, presumably killing Kourov. Rambo then launches an exploding arrow at three more, who are all killed by the large explosion. Rambo is caught, however, by a Soviet armed with an AKS-47 assault rifle, and it looks as if all hope is lost for our hero, but luckily Colonel Trautman kills the soldier by blowing his chest to bloody shreds with a Hungarian AMD-65 assault rifle. Rambo gives his thanks to Trautman, who responds: "What are friends for?" Rambo then climbs out of the cave to make sure it's all clear, but after he gives the okay for him to climb out and Trautman starts to walk away, Kourov appears. Having survived the explosion and escaped, despite having a badly burned face, Kourov knees Rambo in the gut, knocking him to the ground. Rambo pulls his knife out of his sheath, but Kourov kicks him in the face, causing him to lose the weapon in the sand. Trautman hears the struggle and starts racing back in an attempt to help Rambo, but at this point the two have gotten into an extremely violent and brutal hand-to-hand combat session, and the only way Rambo avoids getting strangled is to sink his fingernails deep into Kourov's face. Trautman tries to kill Kourov, but cannot get a clear shot and can't risk hitting Rambo. Kourov attempts to tackle Rambo, but Rambo flips him over his head with ease and the two start wrestling, rolling around on the rocky, hot sand. Rambo then sees the rope he used to climb into the cave and wraps it around Kourov's neck, despite getting elbowed hard in the stomach. Rambo is then elbowed in the face and head-butted, causing his mouth to start bleeding. Kourov then picks Rambo up and begins to squeeze hard, beginning to break his back. Rambo luckily is able to pull the pin on one of Kourov's grenades, distracting Kourov and forcing him to drop Rambo. Kourov attempts to remove the weapon from his jacket, but Rambo kicks him in the face, knocking him down the hole. The rope snaps and Kourov is left hanging in the air as the grenade explodes, killing him. Surrounding Them's Out As Rambo and Trautman try to make their way to Pakistan, Zaysen blocks them with a large mechanized force and orders them to surrender. It looks as if Rambo and Trautman are both goners, so Trautman, disbelieving Zaysen's claims that they won't hurt the two if they surrender, asks Rambo what he wants to do. Rambo replies that "surrounding them's out" and Trautman tells Rambo that it isn't the proper time for jokes. Rambo, having taken Kourov's AKM with an underslung 40mm grenade launcher, pumps a grenade into the tube and says "Fuck 'em!", aiming the grenade launcher at a truck filled with arriving soldiers and firing, killing all the arriving Soviets. Zaysen then fires on the two with his Hind and flies over them. Trautman remarks that he wishes they could have taken Zaysen with them if they're going to die. It looks grim for our heroes, however, Masoud's mujahideen forces attack the Soviets in a cavalry charge and start a firefight in which Rambo commandeers a machine gun mounted on a light blue pickup truck and starts firing on enemies. He later gets ahold of a horse and starts riding around the battle, assisting his friends in the Mujhaideen. Rambo and the Tank In the ensuing battle, in which both Trautman and Rambo are wounded, all of Zaysen's men are killed and Zaysen flies into a rage, swearing vengeance on Rambo, who commandeers a Soviet T-62 tank after killing the crew with a molotov cocktail. Rambo and Zaysen get into a game of chicken and Rambo fatally wounds Zaysen when he fires the tank's machine guns through the helicopter's windshield, but Zaysen, using his last amount of strength, attempted to kill Rambo one final time by slamming head on to Rambo's tank. However, Rambo rams the tank's big gun into the helicopter and blows it to pieces, finally killing Zaysen and his helicopter crew. Rambo gets out of the tank, unharmed, and discovers that the battle has been won. Just a Little... At the end of the battle, Rambo and Trautman get into a Jeep that begins to drive the two away. Hamid, who had earlier borrowed Co's necklace, attempts to give it back, but Rambo, having grown more aware of himself and attempting to move on with his life, tells him to keep it. Although they persuade him to stay and help them fight the Soviets, which Rambo seriously considers, he realizes that war must end for him sometime and he declines, so the two say goodbye to their mujahideen friends and leave Afghanistan to go home. Trautman tells Rambo that maybe he's getting soft, and Rambo replies "Just a little..." Category:Characters Category:Summaries